1. Field
At least one example embodiment relates to a driving module and/or a motion assistance apparatus including the driving module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Biped walking may aid a human in performing various daily activities by freeing the hands of the human during walking. When experiencing difficulties in walking, a human body may be exposed to a number of issues. For example, a decrease in muscular strength may restrict physical activities and cause a reduction in muscle mass, energy consumption, and/or metabolism.
Walking assistance robots/walking assistance devices are being developed to aid those people having difficulties in walking to be able to walk with less difficulty. Such robots/devices may be worn on/attached to a lower body of a user to intensify muscular strength and alleviate a burden of supporting their weight during standing or walking on a level ground, a slope, or stairs.
In general, the robots/devices may have a structure to assist motions of joints of a lower body, for example, hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints using an actuator. In the past, such robots/devices were developed to assist walking/intensify muscular strength of a patient. However, recently, the robots/devices are being developed to improve walking abilities for military purposes, manufacturing purposes, and general walking assistance purposes.
For example, to transmit a force and a torque generated by the actuator to joints of a user, a wearable portion acting as an interface between joints of the user and the device may attach to or enclose a body of the user. When driving power is transmitted in a direction in which a joint portion of the device connected to the wearable portion matches a moving direction of the joint of the user, the force and the torque may be applied appropriately without causing inconvenience. A driving source may include a motor and a decelerator, and may be disposed at a position corresponding to a rotation axis of the joint of the user. The wearable portion may be provided in a form of a belt or a band so that a frame connected to the driving source may be attached to a leg portion of the user. Such a structure may be an external skeleton structure in which the driving source and the wearable portion are relatively thick, and may be worn over clothing to be exposed to an outside.